Write The Power

College: What is it About

2009-04-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

COLLEGE: What is it about.....
(Choose: Moorehouse, Duke, Loyola Marymount, Gonzaga, Princeton, University of Mississippi, Spelman, George Washington University, University of Texas- El Paso, Harvard)
1. History of the School.
This answer will contain when the school was founded, was it all male/ female, was it only for white students initially, why was it formed?

2. Demographics.
a) # of students.
b) # of each ethnicity
c) % each echnicity is of total population
d) % by gender

3. Important Dates in the School History and description of why the date is important.

4. Watch Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhZpPEP5E7g
Answer Questions:
a. Historically Black colleges were a community solution to what issue?
b. What was the name of the legal decision that reinforced separate but (un)equal standards
between Black and White populations?
c. What are ways that communities preserve their customs and traditions nowadays despite society's attempts to prevent them?

SledgeHammer: Smash the Violence

2008-12-03T09:20:00.000-08:00

Prompt:
Jay-Z says he has 99 problems If you had to list your type 5 problems what would they be?

Girl Got 99 Problems, Is Hip Hop One?
The article we will be examining today will be focusing on whether or not music (in this case, specifically Rap) plays a role in violence against women.
What lyrical examples does the article give of way that:

Hip Hop talks about social issues in women’s life?
Hip Hop explores sexual agency/ power?
Hip Hop challenges stereotypes?

When should society interfere in lyrical freedom?

What are examples of lyrics that encourage violence against women?

Highlighted Handout as Group

1. Discuss the highlighted part of your handout. Speak about what you believe Audre Lorde is saying. Look at the part highlighted a separate color- what do these words or phrases mean?

2. As a group, create an image/ drawing that represents your highlighted phrase on the hand-out. Let it be a visual description of the words. Make sure to include the quote on the drawing.

End of Class Reflection (2 Paragraphs)
What are the ways Hip Hop plays a role in the way men view women and women view themselves? What also plays a role?

SledgeHammer: Smash the Silence!

2008-11-21T09:09:00.000-08:00

Writing Prompt:

What is is that compels you to draw, create, write, dance your truth? What is inside you that refuses to be forced to be silent?

Definitions: COPY THESE. I will give you the definition.
Voice
Silence
Violence

Why Do We Write (COPY THESE into your note book).
1. Why is it important to believe that we matter?
2. Who is in your life that you matter to?
3. What matters to you?

Audre Lorde (Handout).
"I was going to die, if not sooner than later, whether or not I had ever spoken myself. My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you."

1. Discuss the highlighted part of your handout. Speak about what you believe Audre Lorde is saying. Look at the part highlighted a separate color- what do these words or phrases mean?

2. As a group, create an image/ drawing that represents your highlighted phrase on the hand-out. Let it be a visual description of the words. Make sure to include the quote on the drawing.
Queen GodIS (HandOut)
1. As demonstrated in the last section, underline/highlight key stanzas/ verses that impacted you most. Use at least three separate parts of the poem.

2. On a separate piece of paper, draw an image that represents your vision/ voice unspoken or the poem that we just read. Use at least two quotes or stanzas.

Is Love a Human Right?

2008-11-19T08:41:00.000-08:00

Audre Lorde: Read Out loud in small groups of 3 or 4.

1) Open Up Microsoft Word.

2) Write the three paragraphs from the document that stood out most to you and why?

3) Why does Audre say "Your silence will not protect you?". Would you agree or disagree with this and why?

4) What are ways that Audre has been silenced in her life, according to the writing?

5) What are ways you have been silenced or kept silent? Give examples and be specific?

6) Why does Audre say it is important to speak, write, and be heard?

7. Email to Gonzales@A4ra.com

Is Love a Human Right?

2008-11-14T08:57:00.000-08:00

Answer in Microsoft Word:
Define the following in your own words: (10 min)
Homophobia
Sexism
Hetero-sexism

Reflection (one paragraph): (5 min)
Do you feel the Hip Hop industry is open to rappers and m.c.'s who are gay, queer, or lesbian?
Why or why not?

Watch the following link: Hip Hop and Homophobia

a) What was the statement that Kanye West made that opened up a dialogue?
b) Why did you feel so many rappers were defensive to answer the statement?
c) Why do you feel so many people in the world are threatened or scared of two people loving one another who are of the same sex?
d) What is the danger of putting out hateful lyrics to a large audience?

Watch the Second Link: A Beginner's Guide to No HOMO
a) Where or why did the term "No Homo" originate?
b) What is the video blogger's opinion of the term?

Discussion (last 20 minutes)

Is Love a Human Right?

2008-11-12T09:24:00.000-08:00

Today's lesson will be done in WORD and emailed......
Writing Prompt:
Why do you feel that 69% of African Americans and 50% of Raza voted YES to ban gay marriage through proposition 8?

LA Times: Prop 8 Click Here

1. What is the argument against the constitutionality of Prop 8?

2. What is the difference between making a revision of the Consitution and an amendment?

Keith Olbermann Click Here

1. When was the last year it was illegal for a Black person to marry a white person?
2. In how many states?
3. Why is that significant to history of President Elect Barack Obama?
4. What other laws limiting marriage did the United States have?

5. Research and find two laws that used to exist limiting marriage between people in the United States.
A.

B.

Discussion....

Email to Gonzales@a4ra.com

Towards a new beauty.. beyond the ballot.

2008-11-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

Writing Prompt:
Describe where you were and what you felt when you found out Barack Obama had been elected the 44th president of the United States, and the 1st one ever who was a person of color?

1) Share Out (10 minutes

2) Watch the following Video
Click on Letter to History
(Excerpt… from video)
Dear History,
For too long have I pondered your meaning, memorized dates of battles, years of servitude, decades of injustice, named eras after movements, mourned the extinction of species, cursed founding fathers, worn vintage suits and cloaked myself with references of your hold on me.
I have walked through museums wondering how it is that greatness had lived and died all before my time. Parts of me feared becoming great because it seemed to include a price of death and a postmortem glory that my memory could never resurrect. I've stared at paintings dying to catch glimpses of the painter, closed my eyes to listen to songs that drunken ghosts dance to, and all the while I've fought to FREE the present to BECOME.

1. What was Saul William’s letter to history about?
2. How has history enslaved the present and held hostage the future?

Watch Nas's: "Black President":
1. How has the world changed since when Tupac wrote his rhyme?
2. How has Barack challenged what "they say"?

READ
There is an energy in the air. While the problems in our communities have not changed overnight, and many still struggle, live homeless, or are killed, there is a sense that times are changing. People are waking up, speaking out, moving forward, and demanding a world that meets their basic needs and rights.

Your ASSIGNMENT.. (If typed, Write in font size 12, times new roman)
Write your own letter with the folllowing idea in mind
a) A letter to History letting him know what you would like to lay to rest. It could be the history of your people, your gender, your sexuality; it could be your family history, your love history, or any combination of the previous. BE CREATIVE!

b) A Letter to Barack Obama. Let him know your feelings on yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Offer up ideas and hopes, even suggestions. Let him know that you do not expect him to change everything, but what YOU are willing to do. Also, hold him accountable. Many people offer promises but do not fufill them. What are issues that matter to you that you do NOT want him to fail on (funding, prisons, war... changes in community).

c) EMAIL to gonzales@a4ra,com

Remembering the Beauty- DAY III

2008-10-29T08:50:00.000-07:00

Hello BRILLIANT people!!
Writing Prompt: (L) (10 min)
What would your community or block look like if it was completely violence free?

Share Out: (R) (20 min)
Pair up with a person and share the drawing or poem you wrote for last Friday, regarding a person harmed by street or police violence.

In Your Notebook: (R) (10 min)
Write the Name of the person you shared with.
Write whether they did a poem or a drawing.
Share your reaction, thoughts, with one another.
After both have shared, spend 5 minutes writing down thoughts about their piece.
1) What stood out most about your partner's creation?
2) What did their piece make you feel? Could you relate to their experience? How?
3) What do you feel is the root cause of violence?
4) If some people feel that the police cause violence, what are other ways communities can create safe streets and support one another?

TYPING ASSIGNMENT:
Last Wednesday we wrote our 1st draft of a 5 paragraph essay based upon the following format:

Intro/ Thesis
1st evidence
2nd evidence
3rd evidence
Closure/ Restatement of Thesis

Your Writing Prompt was one of the following.
Voting will/ will not change my community.
Hip Hop is/is not a major contributor to why there is so much violence in my community.
Marriage is a right of two people who love each other, regardless of gender and sexuality.

TODAY, Re-WRITE a second draft TYPED.
DUE BY END OF PERIOD- EMAIL to: Gonzales@a4ra.com

Remembering the Beauty: Day II

2008-10-24T08:01:00.000-07:00

Writing Prompt:

Read and Respond:

justified madness 10.23.08

1/5 African American and 1/8 Latino males will end up going to prison by the time they're 18 years of age. I advise you to note that it is not that African American, and Latino's are more likely to commit crimes. In fact, African American and Latinos are more likely to get pulled over than a white male while the white male is most likely to have drugs or weapons in his vehicle. Juvenile delinquency drops 41%, yet media coverage rises by 200%. Some argue that our youth is out of control. $74,000/yr is spent per juvenile at juvenile detention centers, and $6,400/yr on education. The issue is not that Black and Brown youth is born this way, it is that they are born in a system designed exclusively for their failure. Most come from neglected communities that teach them that the sum of their being is equiveleant to zero. Here, failure is not a personal choice.

Corporate greed is at it's finest, privatizing LIFE, and the US Constitution contradicts the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I've come to realize that there is no such thing as rights. If they were " rights" they wouldn't be taken away. Freedom is not Freedom it has to be given to you. I'm taking the time to write this because this shit keeps me up at night. I remind you that YOUR LIFE HAS VALUE TO ME, and as corny as it sounds I LOVE EVEN THE SIMPLEST COMPOSITION OF YOU, and it is time that you begin to believe the same.

It is completely mind boggling to me that we can sit comfortably in our designer couches for hours watching our high definition idiot boxes, concerned about who the fuck Paris Hilton's new best friend is, and easily bypass critical social issues affecting our present, and eventually our future. How far must they push us? Where do you draw the line between enough and enough? Black and Brown youth is constantly being targeted, as we feed from the hand of the oppressors. It is easier to talk about how fucked up things are, and do nothing to challenge them.

Lets organize ourselves, lets educate ourselves, lets respect our future, lets raise our voices even if our voices shake as we speak, lets change the things we don't like, lets reform our system into one that benefits you and I, lets turn prisons into rehabilitation centers, lets support our youth, lets remember that nothing is of least existence and importance under the sun, lets love life for the sake of life itself.

Let's begin by getting mad as hell…

October 22nd: Remembering the Beauty

2008-10-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

Writing Prompt:
What is the most powerful memory/experience you've had with the police?
(If you have not had one, write one of your friend's memories).

Today marks the National Day of Protest against Police Violence.
Click Here: Answer the following questions in COMPLETE sentences?
What is October 22nd?

Based upon the following links, please answer the following questions:
1) Who killed Gonzalo Martinez and how (CLICK HERE)
2) Who killed Suzy Pena and how? How old was she? (Click here)
3. In both instances, what was the community reaction?

Based upon the this link (click here), answer the following questions:

What does 022 have to do with immigration?
What do prisons have to do with schools?
What are TWO actions that 022 is doing to bring awareness and attempt to stop police violence?

Based upon this link (Click here), please answer the following questions- be prepared to share out.
What happened to Amadou Diallo?
How is Michael Moore's actions bringing attention to the problem of police violence?
What actions do you feel could be done to bring attention to police violence in Los Angeles?

The following poem was written in response to the many people who have been killed in Los Angeles by police violence. They range in age from 3 to nearly 30. Read the poem and choose one of the following. Be prepared to discuss the poem below as well as your writing on Friday.

1) Write a Poem that honors an individual or group of people you know killed by police violence.
2) Provide a detailed drawing that honors people who have been killed by police violence.
3) Write a poem or a provide a detailed drawing that illustrates the way Violence is committed upon your community as it relates to the police, military,

(Click here or here for illustration examples)

Poem: and I promise you this.. (In Memory Of)
It is a simple wish:
To find safety in eyes of a lover, make eternal commitments to another
And create life that is our evolved reflection.
Birth beauty and watch it grow beyond genetics.
We even give them turquoise names
*Gonzalo *Carlos *Tyesha * Suzy * Sean* Javier *Usman *Charlie *Robert *Deondre
They roll off tongue tickle larynx like sugar
it is why we smile sweetly at the mere memory or mention of
their candy childhood laughter echoing inside eardrums.
Young ones who beats Drums for future untold
watch bones expand Into dreams of Full soul almond amber charcoal skin.
It is every parent’s nightmare to watch our future’s light within Stamped out
Voided in noise of gunfire echoed by screams cut short as
red white and blue sirens strangles us in violent silence Dressed in evening blue uniforms
Or midnight phone calls from a coroner
*all we asked for were warnings
instead we wake up to empty bedrooms
find our loved ones front page morning stories
“black * brown * man * woman * child
police stand off
dead
Another City dreams deferred
Babies born but aborted mid-life
By so called pro-life
Who leave us with no choice
In matters of our life and our loved ones.
Now cribs lie empty.. street corners turn alters
Wedding plans packed away buried in the grave of fiancés
And birthdays are the most miserable moments in mornings of mourning
They blame bandana republics
I blame the melanin mentality of their bullets
And their fear of our rainbow’s light.
I wish our brothers knew simple mathematics:
Division in the streets
equals united in the grave
Murder was the case
That they gave us.
But moritician is never a mother’s willing choice of occupation
We leave bedrooms untouched because it is too painful to pack it up.
Sit in shadows where stomach churns and cry- fake strength for neighbors
Who shake heads and wonder why it has to be
*Gonzalo *Carlos *Tyesha * Suzy * Sean* Javier *Usman *Charlie
*Robert *Deondre
turquoise and sugar names cyanide to their diabolical diabetic color wheel complex
preveted promethues trying to steal our fire, convinced they are a greek god.\
But We are an original fire people- (como Xango, Ra, Camaxtli, Agni, Arani, Shiva, Devi
There is a time coming when we willl redefine Police stand off-
It will come when we stand up
They will step back
We will step forward
Momentum shifts
Their boots, bullets, and batons from our neck
Feable Attempts to Damper the light.. extinguish our fire
As if a hose could attempt to stop the flow of an indigenous inferno
For even as flames flicker /Dim
They disperse from spine/ Out of body
Extend and ignite in the streets
lighting the way for new days Of being
We are beautiful people
Beyond beating batons
We birth Beating hearts Breathing
warming formerly cold coffins
we will wear t-shirts with labels: Warning : contents inside extremely flammable.
We are beyond ballots
It is our Beauty or the Bullet.
Our loved ones or the riot
There is a direct correlation
Between the numbers of our deaths
And the increasing lack of respect
That translates into attempts on your life
Please, Do not dismiss this poem as militant
It is carved inside the ribcage of a raven
Who saraficed her life to show even doves cry before pushed too far
The tone may be angry
But it written from love
For ourselves and children
I will have them someday
And We will teach her to shake rattles like perceptions
play with the memory of Suzy
she will learn to write copying the screenplay of a movie
where Chuadry will awake from his dream in the streets
Charlie will continue hide from death but not be forced to seek death in a shed.
My son will Break bars on cribs like those on cages
Because no made obstacle cannot contain our creative visions
mother’s will bang on pans
and on they system
Father’s will play catch and catch up
With Deondre, Robert, Javier,
Or Carlos Training for Football pratice at Santee
He will be free to be anything he imagines
We deserve nothing less
Than the best
For our loved ones
We do not raise racists or hatred
Nor will we tolerate it
Pushed upon our young ones
Whether by police or the streets
My heartbeat will be born again
Inside another spine
And I will be damned if it the tic tocs
Of his heart will be stopped by a cop prematurely.
Surely the sun will honor
Our suns and daughters and aid
The beautiful fire growing within
With sunrays of soul y sol
Y flor y canto
*Gonzalo *Carlos *Tyesha * Suzy * Sean* Javier *Usman *Charlie
*Robert *Deondre
with your spirits we dance beautifully in the arms of a new day dawning
where our children play in the streets, *Robert * Carlos * Deondre
with no worry of shots * Tyesha *Sean *Gonzalo
for the only echoes in ears onf the young ones will be that of the drum * Javier * Usman
they beat in hopes of foretelling the future * Robert * Charlie * Suzy
where coffins are a natural part of life
but only after 90 years of fire and beauty.
The flame is lit…
We kiss it in honor of you and pray for flames
May the winds fan the fire
As quickly as possible
Before the rain comes

Discussion Questions.
1. What were your feelings as you were reading this poem
2. What was the meaning the author was trying too convey to the reader? Do you agree or disagree with the meaning?
3. What kind of imagery does the author use to describe their community and it's relationship to violence?

Writing Sample!

2008-10-17T09:26:00.000-07:00

NO WRITING PROMPT: Copy the following on L side of book.

In a 5 paragraph opinion essay, there are 5 parts.

Intro/ Thesis
1st evidence
2nd evidence
3rd evidence
Closure/ Restatement of Thesis

Essay Prompts: Pick one!
Voting will/ will not change my community.

Hip Hop is/is not a major contributor to why there is so much violence in my community.

Marriage is a right of two people who love each other, regardless of gender and sexuality.

DRAFT DUE BY END OF PERIOD
(Next Stage Typing DRAFT!)

Homework:
Interview 3 people this weekend on the above questions.
Find out their feelings, and ask a follow up question.

Who Are You!!

2008-10-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

Writing Prompt: (1L)
If you could interview anyone in the world, who would it be and why?

Objective: (1R)

To develop and establish the tools necessary to prepare for and conduct an in-depth interview.

Write the following questions down in your notebook: (1R)
1) Where were you born? Where were your parent’s born?
2) What do you feel your greatest accomplishment in your life has been so far?
3) What is your biggest fear?
4) What is the funniest or favorite memory you have?
5) Where you do you see your life TEN YEARS from today? (Be descriptive)
6) What is your biggest regret?
7) Have you ever been hospitalized
8) Have you ever been in Love?
9) Have you ever moved or change schools?
10) Have you ever been locked up? (If so when)?
11) Have you ever been to court? Describe.

Add 5 of YOUR OWN Questions!!
Pick a Partner:

Conduct Interview: 30 min

PRESENT Interview to the CLASS!!!
Listeners: Pick one question and answer that stood out to you!

Hip Hop on Trial- Day #3

2008-10-01T09:04:00.001-07:00

Writing Prompt: (3L)
Is Corporate America to Blame for the Violence in Hip Hop:

Read the following survey. (3R)
Hip Hop and Violence
Pick three sentences that stood out to you and write them in your notebook. After, right a short response on why they stood out to you.

Partner up:
Share with a person one quote that stood out to you and why?
Write their response in your notebook.

Essay: Whose to Blame (3R)
Who does the article say is to blame for the violence in Hip Hop?
Do you agree or disagree and why?
(pick four quotes that back up your point)

Video on Hip Hop and Violence
Scroll to "Video Essay on Hip Hop and Violence"
Answer in complete sentences per question.

What is your gut response to the video?
How does the maker of the film use hip hop?
How does this film relate to your struggle and life?

HandOut and Homework.

Hip Hop on Trial Day #2

2008-09-26T09:08:00.000-07:00

Writing Prompt (2l)

Who holds more responsibility for music content if someone commits a crime while listening to it:
The Author: who makes the music
The Producer: who sells it
The Consumer: who buys it?

HandOut:
Research Four Rappers who have been put on trial and fill in the following: Who, The Charge, The Verdict. (i.e. O.D.B., T.I.)

Define (2R)= Your words, the Dictionary, An Example
Sexism:
Homophobia
White Supremacy
Conditioning

Click On Tupac Trial: and Answer (2R)
1.Who was the author?
What was the main point of the article?
When was it published and in what paper?

2. What surprised you most about the article?

3. What is your reaction to the wife’s statement: “"I'm sure Tupac has no feeling for me or what happened to my husband. He obviously has a great anger toward law enforcement. All he cares about is singing his songs and making his money, no matter who he hurts."

4. The article states: “(Tupac” is the target of a multimillion-dollar product liability suit filed by the widow accusing him and the companies that market his album with gross negligence in manufacturing and distributing music that incites "imminent lawless action."
What is your opinion? (one to two parargraph)

Click on Pharoah Monch's Gun Draw and Answer on (2r)
1. Summarize the story in the video. (Opening. Main Plot. Ending)

2. What or who does Pharoah Monch says the cause of violence is?

3. What role do guns and the access to them play in violence? Explain.

4. Who should be held more accountable, gun and bullet manufactures that sell them or the communities that buy them? Why?

Watch the following Links
Hip Hop Controversies

Then pick one statement and argue it’s truth or not using personal experience, web statistics, and information used today. (2-3 paragraphs on separate piece of paper)

Option #1
Hip Hop is a product of it’s environment. Most rappers grow up in surrounded by violence from gangs and the police. They speak of what they know and should not be blamed for speaking the truth about their community.

Option #2
Children learn from what they listen to. Hip Hop glamourizes violence and encourages putting women down. Hip Hop artists should accept accountability for the music they put and realize they are perpetuating the problem.

HIP HOP ON TRAIL #1

2008-09-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

Journal (1L)
Pick a word that describes Hip Hop.
Write a sentence on why you picked your word.

Pick one word that describes family.
Write a sentence on why you picked that word.

Write one sentence on whether you feel hip hop is hurting or helping your community.

Read and Respond (1R)
Chamillionare's Hip Hop Police
Hip Hop Police is a dialogue between an artists and the police.
1. What are the two arguing about?
2. What lyrical evidence can you use to support your answer in number #1?
3. Who do you feel wins the arguement, the artist or the police?

Video of Hip Hop Police
1. What is your emotional, gut reaction when seeing this video? What do you think/ feel/ see/ hear?
2. What does the video tell you about Hip Hop and the Police?
3. Do you feel Chamillionare is exaggerating or this is true? Use examples from your life or your knowledge.

Read and Respond: (1R)
Hip Hop is NOT the Problem
1. Explicit Theory: What does the author say about hip hop and the problems in the community. (Use quotes)
2. Analysis: Would you agree or disagree with their argument that hip hop is not the problem with our community? Why? (Use Reasons)
3. What artists does the author say is hurting the image and reality in the community? Who would YOU add to this list?
4. What artists does the author say is helping the image and reality in the community? Who would YOU add to this list?

Video Search: (1R)
Youtube: Def Poetry Black Ice
In full sentences, answer the following.
1. What is the main point of Black Ice's poem?
2. What does Black Ice feel the problem with music is: the artists or label? Use quotes from the poem?
3. One Paragraph: Who do you feel is more responsible for the problems in hip hop: the artist, who creates the music, or the labels, that produce and distribute them? Why?

HOMEWORK: One poem/ One Rhyme and One Reading.
Write a piece based upon the given theme.

I am....

2008-09-17T13:35:00.000-07:00

Assignment #1: Create an Imovie based upon a poem in the I am format.

Steps:
1) Description:
2) Write Poem
3) Storyboard
4) Imovie
5) Present

Options:

“I am Poem”:

** Your poem must compare yourself to hip hop, your culture, or your gender (you can talk about contrasts too)
** Your poem should be at least a page long
** You may write in any form you choose, but your poem must include personification (Please label this on your final copy.)
** The phrase “I am hip hop/ woman/ man/ black/ chicano/ etc” must be included at least once in your poem
** Your poem must be titled
** Poem must be neatly written or typed
** Poem must be free from spelling or grammar errors
** Poem must include strong verbs and adjectives

STEP 2!! STORYBOARDING
After every line in your "I am" poem.. put a ( )
Inside the () write an image that would go with your line that visually describes what you see when you hear your sentence.

At the bottom of your poem, make sure you write your name.

Step 3!! Save and Email.

1. Click on File. Save. As title, write: " I am *yourlastname *yourfirstname"
2. go to MAIL.A4RA.COM
3 log in- your user name is *lastname_firstname
your password is ara2008
4. Change your password by clicking on settings, going to accounts, and at the bottom, clicking change password.
5. Email your poem as an attachment to Gonzales@a4ra.com

Welcome!!

2008-09-14T23:32:00.001-07:00

In this class we will examine the poetry in our tragedy, the language of possibility, and how to speak truth regardless of dialect.